Heel top lift.



A. LBNDGREN.

HEEL TOP LIFT.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 7, 1912.

1,077,535, I Patented Nov. 4, 1913.

ALFRED LENDGREN, OF CORNING, IOWA.

HEEL TOP LIFT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed November 7, 1912.

Patented Nov. 4, 1913. Serial No. 730,041.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALFRED LENDGREN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Corning, in the county of Adams and State of Iowa, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Heel Top Lifts; and I dohereby declare the following to .be a full, clear, and exact descriptionof the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to whichit appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to boots and shoes and it more particularlyrelates to an improved form of heel top lifts.

An object of the invention is to provide a device of the characterstated, which may be secured to the heels of athletic shoes and ofrubber boots and shoes to prevent them from slipping.

Another object of the invention is to pro-. vide a heel top lift whichcomprises a body of comparatively soft and malleable material and aremovable and interchangeable flanged member of somewhat tougher material, such as malleable steel, or wrought iron of a suitable alloy.

Another object of the invention is to provide a removable andreplaceable anti-slipping flanged element, having a wedgeshaped securingelement whereby it may be quickly and easily removed and replaced.

Another object of the invention is to provide for protecting the nailheads with which the device is secured, and at the same time providingfor easy access to the nail heads, when it is. desired to remove thelatter.

Vith these objects in view the invention consists of the improvedconstruction, combination and arrangement of parts of a heel top lift,which will be hereinafter fully described and afterward specificallyclaimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of anathletic shoe in inverted position,-Fig. 2 is an under plan view of myimproved heel top lift, Fig. 3 is a fragmental sectional viewillustrating-the device applied to an ordinary rubber shoe heel, andFig. 4 is a vertical sectional view through a simplified form ofthe/device which constitutes my invention.

In these drawings,'in which similar reference characters correspond withsimilar parts throughout the several views, the'shoe heel in Fig. 1 isdesignated by the numeral 5', the ordinarily roughened sole of which"the elements 17 and 8 is 8 of my improved heel top lift are prefershoeis designated 6. The body 7 and flange ably secured to the heel 5 bymeans of nails 9, the heads of which are seated in grooves 10, whichextend in approximately parallel relation to the periphery of the heeltop lift. Exteriorly of the groove 10 is a series of alternating lugsand recesses, 11 and 12 respectively, said recesses with the groove 10.The middle portion of the heel top lift may be provided withintersecting grooves 13, which separate a series of bosses 14, whichprovides an anti-slipping or roughened surface which auxiliates andeventually substitutes the raised portion of the bosses 11. Aftercontinual use, bosses 11 may become worn away, so that the bosses 14 areexposed to a greater extent than previously, thereby substituting thebosses 11. The body 7 is preferably concaved, as indicated at 15 so thatthe peripheral ortions thereof fit snugly upon the heel of t e shoe,even though the heel has become slightly convexed because of wear. Theupperside of the body 7 is recessed or ofl'set as shown. at 16, so thatwhen said body is fitted on a shoe heel, an aperture isprovided betweenthe forward edge of said body and the adjacent bottom surface of theheel. WVithin this -recess 16, may be seated the wedge shaped base plate1 7 on which the flange 8 is formed; said flange 8 extending downwardand substantially at right angles to plate 17. The forward edge of thebase is provided with a rib 20 which extends approximately in front ofthe rib 20 is a relatively thin portion 21 which constitutes a groovewhen the flange 8 is in place as illustrated.

The body 7 is preferably made of malleable cast iron, while the membercomprising preferably formed from malleable steel, so that the flange 8is tougher and less easily worn than body 7..

Therefore, the flange 8 may be easily bent rearward into the groove 21by means of a hammer or the like, so that the flange will. not mar thefloor on which the wearer of the shoe walks; but, in the case of sleet,etc., when the flange is to be used, a chisel, screwdriver or other toolmay be employed for bending said flange up into vertical position sothat it will cut into the sleet or ice, so as to prevent slippingthereon. This feature is also desirable when used on athletic shoes, asin some athletic games the vertical flange communicating the entiredistance across the said body, and

- is desirable, while in other games, it is unwhile in that bent-down orhorizontal position, they may become worn to such an extent that theywill break when an attempt is made to again bend them into a verticalposition, and they must then be substituted by another similar member.In order to provide for quickly removingbroken plates and substitutingthem, I have provided for protecting the nail heads 9 by placing them inthe groove 10 so that said nail heads will be protected against wear bymeans of the adjacent sides of the groove 10. Therefore, a narrow chiselor other suitable tool may easily be inserted in the groove 10 andforced under the heads of the nails which hold plate 17; so that thesaid nails may be drawn, for releasing their engagement with said member'17 and allowing it to be removed and substituted by a new one. Themember 17 is preferably wedge-shaped, so that it may be quickly andeasily placed in proper position, whereupon, the. nails'may be. replacedor substituted, for 'securing said member 17 in fixed position. Inremoving the member 17, it is only necessary to remove the three nailswhich comprise the front row so that the position of the body 7 remainsundisturbed.

By making the flange 8 of tougher material than the body 7, the saidbody will wear more rapidly than said flange, so that the lattercontinues to project below the wearing surface of the body until thelatter has completely worn out.

, Instead of making the members 7 and 8 separable, I may preferably castor forge the entire heel top lift integrally, as shown in Fig. 4. Inthis figure, the base is specified 1 by numeral 7', the flange 8 beingrendered tougher and less easily worn than the base 7 by any ordinarprocess of annealing .or tempering or the ike.

I do not limit my invention to the exact details of construction,combination and arrangement of parts as herewith illustrated anddescribed; but my invention may only be limited by a reasonableinterpretation of the claims.

I claim: 4 I

1. A heel top lift consisting of a Hat metal body having grooves andbosses on its lower side, its upper side having a forwardly disposedrecess and apertures communicating with the recess and adapted toreceive fastening means such as nails, and a downwardly flanged platefitted into the forwardly disposed recess.

2. A heel top lift comprising a metal plate having a groove in its lowerside and a recess in its upper front side and also having aperturescommunicating with the groove and the recess and adapted to receivesecuring means such as nails, and a wedgeshaped plate seated in therecess and adapted to be engaged by the securing means, saidwedge-shaped plate having a downwardly extended flange thereon.

3. A heel top lift adapted to be fitted to the heel of a shoe and havinga groove adjacent to one edge and having a flange forming a wall of thegroove and extending be low the level of the lower surface of the liftsaid flange being of malleable material and adapted to be bent over intothe said groove.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

- ALFRED LENDGREN.

Witnesses:

RALPH NEwooMB, Mm SHINKLE.

